Wally

Szczerbiak

The Wolves made a big financial committment to defense at Wally’s position by giving Trenton Hassell six years and $27 million, so in Minnesota he would likely have to settle for sixth man duties as a scorer off the bench. The Trailblazers and Knicks are among the teams interested in Szczerbiak.

Wally is day-to-day.

No tear was found. Szczerbiak, despite discomfort from plantar fasciitis, soon might be practicing.

Szczerbiak was originally estimated to miss just 2-3 weeks recovering from plantar fasciitis.

''Your foot gets really sore. But it’s worked -- Peja [Stojakovic] had it. They say it has an 80 percent success rate,’' said Szczerbiak, who is expected back sometime after Thanksgiving.

“I threw the ball into Michael (Olowokandi), went to cut hard on it and put all the stress on the foot and felt it tear,” Szczerbiak said. “We’ll see what that means. That could be a good thing. Maybe the soreness is getting out of there. We have to take it day by day. I’m optimistic if that’s the case. They say it’s going to be really sore.” Szczerbiak still thinks he might be able to play Wednesday.

Saunders said ''Wally’s not in a situation where rest will make him better. You basically end up playing with it.’' But Wally hasn’t been playing with it, and came up sore after two hours of practice this weekend. He’s still doubtful for the final two exhibition games the season opener.

Wally’s return, like Troy Hudson’s and Michael Olowokandi’s, was supposed to be an asset. So far, all three seem like liabilities as the Wolves have gone 8-6 since Szczerbiak was activated Feb. 19. Unlike Hudson and Olowokandi, whose roles even as backups are more clearly defined, Szczerbiak’s role has been vague. Minnesota management is sticking to the theory that while the newfound depth has created acclimation and integration issues, it’s the best thing for the team come playoff time.

Szczerbiak could be cleared to begin conditioning and strength workouts by the end of the week. Still, he could be three weeks away from returning.

Results were not immediately available. Szczerbiak could return around the end of the month.